So I'm a bigot for saying I agree that students should be able to explain the fundamental theoretical underpinnings of biology in order to get a letter of recommendation from a biology professor. If you ask them to "truthfully and forthrightly affirm" the answer, yes it is bigoted. You are asking them to take an oath to the scientific answer, not simply being able to explain it.
So I'm a bigot for saying I agree that students should be able to explain the fundamental theoretical underpinnings of biology in order to get a letter of recommendation from a biology professor. BTW, how can you "truthfully and forthrightly affirm" a scientific answer that you yourself call 'theoretical'? Don't you see the contradiction? Anybody who can "truthfully and forthrightly affirm" a scientific theory which is undergoing changes is a liar. Nobody knows the answer, so how can you affirm it?
Dini was of the opinion that a person who doesn't believe in the theory of evolution is likely to be a bad doctor. I share that belief. It derives from my conviction that the underpinnings of medicine are scientific, and that you cannot reject science without rejecting the foundations on which medicine is based.
If that's bigotry, so be it.